RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP:

Responsible leadership is about making business decisions that, next to the interests of the shareholders, also takes into account all the other stakeholders, such as workers, clients, suppliers, the environment, and the community and future generations. Financial Lexicon Dictionary A values-driven and principles-driven relationship between leaders and stakeholders who are connected through a shared sense of meaning and purpose through which they raise to higher levels of motivation and commitment for achieving sustainable and responsible change. - Maak & Pless (2009:539)

RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP:

Someone who believes that taking (leading) a group (team, family, organization, country, etc.) into a certain condition or status will make the group and those influenced by the group better. Jim Martin Responsible Leadership is defined as Empowering others with guidance whilst helping them achieve the best they can be, encouraging moral and ethical conduct, so they can guide and support others simultaneously. - Responsible Leadership 2010 Online Leadership Conference.

RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP:

"I think responsible leadership will shape business and society in a very constructive way if there is a recognition that respect for human rights is part of that responsible leadership and indeed part of business sustainability."- Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland & Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. "The fact that we have to describe leadership as responsible and by definition irresponsible, in many ways reflects the fundamental nature of the challenge that we face."Richard Golding, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Switzerland

RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP:

"Responsible leadership will shape the worlds future by changing our managers mindsets and reshaping our future leaders. All companies should share new learning and have a new approach to the markets. That way we can move quickly to another era."Samir Malki, Orascom Telecom Algerie SA. "Companies thinking about responsible leadership in terms of human rights and environmental issues, both at home and overseas, have already as far as I am concerned moved far ahead of other companies."- Mary Mayenfisch-Tobin Amnesty International, Switzerland

PERSPECTIVES ON LEADERS RESPONSIBILITYPRUZAN AND MILLER (2006)

Rationalist (Miltonian) view: Leaders have responsibility only to create or maximize shareholders wealth Myopic as it ignores responsibility to other stakeholders; it may also conflict with a leaders morality

Humanist view: Responsibility reflects our humanity. Two strands:

Responsibility is based on human capacity to sympathize and empathize Responsibility is embedded in integrity, i.e. we are responsible to ourselves, an attractive, but utopian view because sympathy and empathy are not uniformly distributed among human beings.

PERSPECTIVES ON LEADERS RESPONSIBILITYPRUZAN AND MILLER (2006)

Holistic view: Responsibility is based on interdependence and reciprocal duty to respect rights of others. Business leaders should create wealth for all stakeholders, not just shareholders. Resonates with business; some organizations are trying to embed triple bottom line principles (economic, social and environmental) as guidelines on corporate reporting. This view does not involve spiritual aspects of human and organizational life. Spiritual-based view: Responsibility is a spiritual, not needs-based, and calling based on our nature to realize our true individual and collective selves. Business leaders are ultimately responsible for promoting well-being of all people directly or indirectly affected by their business. Too much of a religious view; business is a secular matter